This blog is dedicated to sharing the concept that our hands are essential to learning- that we engage the world and its wonders, sensing and creating primarily through the agency of our hands. We abandon our children to education in boredom and intellectual escapism by failing to engage their hands in learning and making.

Monday, June 07, 2010

Heuristic

While we are on the subject of Greek and words that make the idea of hands-on learning more scholarly, (you remember yesterday's post on hermeneutics, it is time to talk about the Greek word "heuristic". It's derived from Archimedes exclamation that became the name of my wonderful home town, "Eureka! Springs" Now, let's holler all together, "Heureka!" for it conveys the sense of discovery, and is what education should really be about in the first place. Now when educators talk about "heuristic," you will be able to exclaim, proclaim and explain what the heck they think they are talking about... a means through which to create an opportunity for hands-on direct personal discovery.

Using Greek terminology is much better at capturing the attention of scholars, because it gives them time to scratch their heads, run for their Greek dictionaries, and then converse in such a manner that they can regain higher ground, keeping peons at bay. It is always fun when you can talk like a pro, an insider, taking comfort that many around you don't know what you mean. It makes you feel exclusive like talking in pig Latin. Andshay onway. Just in case you are not adept at Pig Latin, you can translate through this website.

I made a trip to the handle factory this morning to get scrap rounds for making wheels. I now have about 4 hundred wheels made for making toy cars at the Carnegie Library Birthday Party. I am also fitting drawer guides into the sides of drawers as you can see in the photos above and below.

Ed Bronson sent a link to a blog on Edutopia.org describing a renewed and growing relationship between Career and Technical Education (CTE) and High School College Prep, Bridging the Gap. As described by John Ruskin, "Let the youth once learn to take a straight shaving off a plank, or draw a fine curve without faltering, or lay a brick level in its mortar, and he has learned a multitude of other matters which no lips of man could ever teach him."

About Me

I have been a self-employed woodworker in Eureka Springs, Arkansas since 1976. I live with my wife Jean on a wooded hillside overlooking our beautiful historic community.
In addition to work in my wood shop, I teach children at the Clear Spring School in a program called "The Wisdom of the Hands." My 10th and 11th books, Tiny Boxes by Taunton Press and Making Classic Toys that Teach were published in November 2016. I also write for Fine Woodworking and other woodworking magazines.
My resume can be downloaded at
www.dougstowe.com/resume.doc